Atlanta Falcons fans have been waiting for a major signing on defense, and Azeez Ojulari is just that. While James Pearce Jr.'s legal situation plays out, the Falcons need to add someone to complement Jalon Walker off the edge, but instead of looking at internal options, they went outside the building.. to Athens, that is.
Ojulari is only 25 years old, and despite his injury history, has plenty of meat left on the bone. But herein lies the question: how seriously did they consider bringing back Arnold Ebiketie? Because now that they signed Ojulari, I would venture to say that there's virtually no chance he returns to Atlanta.
The 27-year-old has been a serviceable pass-rusher for the Dirty Birds across his first four NFL seasons, but never lived up to the billing you'd expect from a former Day 2 pick. And the only thing that could help his career is a scenery change, yet his free agent market has been unusually quiet.
There is virtually no way the Atlanta Falcons bring back Arnold Ebiketie after signing Azeez Ojulari
Not only is Ebiketie as good as gone in the coming weeks: Leonard Floyd probably is too. Unless Floyd accepts a serious team-friendly deal, he's a goner, so he at least has a minor shot to return. You can't say the same for the guy the Falcons have been dangling in trade talks for months, no way.
If healthy, Ojulari is going to assume the starting role off the edge opposite Jalon Walker, and since he's younger and better at getting to the QB, he's better for Jeff Ulbrich's system than Ebiketie. He was a trade candidate around the deadline, and at this point needs to prove himself on another team.
The 2022 second-round pick is never going to be Myles Garrett, let's make that clear. But losing your job to a guy who had zero sacks in 2025 and has played a full 17 games in a season once in his career is pretty brutal. If a DC known for reclamation projects can't help you, you may as well be out of luck.
It feels like year after year we have been waiting for the Penn State product to take that leap, but he just never did. He plateaued after a six-sack campaign in 2023 (and 2024), but because his advanced metrics and pressure numbers are good, people are fooled into believing he's better than he truly is.
The worst part is that he was never expected to return, and it seems like Ian Cunningham never considered bringing him back. Ebiketie has flown so far under the radar in free agency, but how unnoticed can he go before teams are realizing he isn't much more than the guy he was in Atlanta?
It's a sad story. Hopefully he gets a necessary fresh start elsewhere.